The present invention relates to an air-bag unit mounted on a seat. It is known to provide a motor vehicle with an air-bag unit mounted on a seat provided within the vehicle. It is common for such an arrangement to comprise an air-bag unit mounted to one side of a back-rest of a vehicle seat so that upon actuation of the air-bag unit, for example upon receipt of a signal from a crash sensor indicative of a side impact or roll-over situation, the air-bag will inflate in a forwards direction so as to lie between an occupant of the seat and the side of the motor vehicle, thereby providing protection to the seat occupant in such a crash situation.
It is known to secure air-bag units of the general type mentioned above to the outboard part of the structural frame of a back-rest of the seat using bolts, screws or rivets, thereby providing a rigid and secure connection between the air-bag unit and the vehicle seat. However, this type of arrangement has been found to be disadvantageous because it is inconvenient for a person installing the air-bag unit to use tools to install the screws, bolts or rivets in what can sometimes be a cramped space within a cavity provided in the upholstery of the seat back-rest. This inconvenience has the effect of making installation a lengthy process.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an air-bag unit mounted on a seat, the air-bag unit being connected to a mounting member secured to or forming part of the structure of the seat; wherein one of said air-bag unit and said mounting member carries a spring, and the other of said air-bag unit and said mounting member carries a plurality of projections; each said projection being configured to engage said spring to form a snap connection between the air-bag unit and the mounting member.
Preferably, the air-bag unit has a first set of locking formations and the mounting member has a second set of locking formations, the locking formations of one of said sets being apertures and the locking formations of the other of said sets being projections, each said aperture at least partially receiving a respective said projection; said spring being mounted to said mounting member or said air-bag unit to extend across each of said apertures and to form a snap connection between said air-bag unit and said mounting member in the region of each aperture.
Preferably, each projection has a side recess spaced from the free end thereof to form a snap connection with the spring, when the projection is received within a respective aperture.
Advantageously, said apertures are formed through part of the mounting member and at least part of said spring is located inboard of part of a frame of the seat on the opposite side of said mounting member to the air-bag unit.
Preferably, said apertures are formed through part of said mounting member and said spring is mounted to said mounting member by a plurality of ears extending from said mounting member.
Advantageously, said mounting member comprises a mounting plate, each ear having an initial portion extending from the mounting plate and a terminal portion parallel with the mounting plate.
Preferably, said apertures are formed through part of the mounting member and said spring is mounted between said projections provided on said air-bag unit.
Conveniently, said mounting member is provided with a plurality of ears extending from said mounting member to engage said spring to form said snap connections.
Advantageously, the mounting member defines part of a frame of the seat.
So that the invention may be more readily understood, and so that further features thereof may be appreciated, embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: